Curse of the Falcons
A podcast for Falcons fans by Falcons fans. Join Chuck and Dan, both lifelong Falcons fans, for an in-depth journey through Falcons history. We feel every bit of your pain. We’re going to examine the Falcons historically more in-depth than any single podcast ever has. From Ernie “The Wheel” Wheelwright to Bijan Robinson, this is the place where we gather together to tape up and get back out on the field. Is THIS The Year? Surely it can’t continue… can it?… Join us weekly as we endeavor to Reverse the Curse!
Curse of the Falcons
66 - Coach Killer (2006)
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Jim Mora, Jr says some stupid things, as does his dad, and Mr. Blank puts a stop to it. Next?
Alright, Falcons fans, it's time for another Curse of the Falcons podcast. I'm Sonny, I'm Dan, and we're first cousins because I'm married into the family. And we have lived the nightmare of loving the Falcons since 1966. So before we get going on this week's episode, a quick reminder, as we always do, everything you hear on the Curse of the Falcons is strictly our opinion. And we're not affiliated with the Atlanta Falcons or the NFL in any official way. This podcast is just for us the fans. So please enjoy this show if you can on this one. This this one, uh, we're we're just digging we're we're digging a hole a little bit deeper.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we're we're we are on the descent in into the dregs of the curse. And it's gonna take us it's gonna take us a couple more episodes to really hit the bottom and and be in the muck.
SPEAKER_01But it will get better, right?
SPEAKER_00Just before the dom.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00You know.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So anyway, but this is good for us to know from whence we have come.
SPEAKER_00Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Right. That's why we do this. That's right, because we can always be encouraged because there's a brighter day. Right.
SPEAKER_00It could always be worse, folks.
SPEAKER_01Because it has been.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it has. We're gonna we're gonna spend less time talking about on-the-field action in this one. This is about the 2006 season. Uh we'll focus on how this team, so talented and so close to contending every year, completely fell apart. This year was bad. The following year left permanent scars. But we'll get to that next episode. This is the year that led to that collapse. Let's go over the draft and on-the-field action first, then we'll get to the bigger issues. Draft didn't yield much for us. We got no first round pick. Uh second round pick was Jimmy Williams. I don't know if you remember him. He's a fast cornerback out of Virginia Tech, but he came out of Virginia Tech, and I think they were thinking, well, Michael Vick came from Virginia Tech. This guy must be good. Sure. Yeah, not really. He only played two years, one interception, no sacks. Um third round, one of one of my favorite most fun players to watch. Uh, we got running back Jarius Norwood, you may remember. I remember Mississippi State. He was fast. Never quite turned into what we thought he'd become, but he was an exciting player to watch. Breakneck speed, great moves, gave us five years, seven touchdowns. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry. That's something to look at there. Uh his highest total was 633 in his rookie year. Pretty serviceable pick for a third rounder. Uh pick of note is uh seventh round. Quarterback out of Georgia, DJ Shockley. He was with the Falcons for four years, never set foot on the field. He got NFL money for holding the clipboard for four years. And he's still um part of the Falcons broadcast uh thing. I don't know if it's on the radio. Uh he does some stuff on TV. You'll see you'll see Falcon shows uh pre-game stuff sometimes on on I don't know what channel they showed on. Maybe channel two. I'm not sure. But uh yeah, DJ's part of the organization still.
SPEAKER_01You kind of think though that in the middle of something like that you would want to play him.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it it it could have yielded something really great. I agree. I mean, I I don't those are the kind of things that I think I I don't understand.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he was talented and he did get on the field in preseason. I remember seeing it and thinking, man, if we could just put him out there. They never would, though. He'd he'd just stand there with a with a baseball hat on.
SPEAKER_01Bless his heart. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's probably good for him. He didn't get rattled, you know, like a lot of those guys do. So um, you know, damn good dog is what we call those guys. And he he was DGD. Uh we started strong again at five and two, including a crazy 41 to 38 overtime win against Pittsburgh. Uh northern another George Bulldog great, Heinz Ward, caught eight passes. Listen to this, eight passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Goodness. Yeah. Uh I mentioned that because of this peculiarity. At that time, Ward held the Peach Bowl record for passing yards. I said passing yards. Wow. With 413. He threw 59 passes in the Peach Bowl uh and rushed for another another 56 yards that game. It was also in the Georgia Doe. Wow. Damn good dog.
SPEAKER_01Do you do you think that okay, I gotta ask you a question.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I remember Chuck growing up was a huge Steelers fan.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And I know by this time it's like, man, he's Falcons through and through. But that had to be a little bit of a a little bit of something back and forth for Chuck.
SPEAKER_00You would think.
SPEAKER_01You know, seeing that black and yellow and all that, and and it's like, uh you know, it make it makes sense.
SPEAKER_00Um a little I can kind of go with that because I was I was a Chicago Bears guy, um, because my dad was, you know, and and I had on my wall a poster, Gail Sayers, and a poster of Dick Butkus. You know, those those were my two features. You gotta love those guys. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01Amazing.
SPEAKER_00But um, you know, in Soldierfield, it's the oldest stadium in in the NFL. I think it's 102 years old or something like that now.
SPEAKER_01Amazing.
SPEAKER_00But uh but anyway, I I kind of understand that. It's yeah, you know, but when Chicago plays Atlanta, uh yeah, I don't uh I'm not pulling for the Bears. No, uh-uh. I I I see somebody who's trying to beat my boys, you know? So it it doesn't matter to me. Yeah. As was the case the previous year, the team's winning ways stopped around the middle of the year. And we lost seven of the last nine, finishing seventy-nine, no playoffs, losing record. The team in disarray as their coach seemed to lose his marbles. Now for the distraction. Now this wasn't an off-field distraction, but it became the defining issue of Morris' final two years. He could not finish strong. Started six and two, finished eight and eight in two thousand five. Two thousand and six, the year we're covering now, started five and two, finished seven and nine. So Atlanta would have combined four and thirteen over the second halves of those two years, and they were good teams. Players in media increasingly questioned whether Mora could keep the team focused once adversity hit. Jim Mora Sr., uh you remember him, the old coach of the Saints. Oh, yeah. And the uh and the Colts, the playoffs guy. Uh he he he called uh oh I don't remember now if it was a radio show or on TV. I think it was a radio show. Uh he was calling in being interviewed, and he called Michael Vick a coach killer. Um which wasn't one of it wasn't Jim Jr.'s fault, but he had to manage the fallout of that because his dad just called his quarterback a coach killer. Um yeah, it it was during the radio interview. I'm just looking at this now. Imagine being Vic and hearing your own coach's father publicly suggestion suggesting that you get coaches fired. Vic was understandably unhappy, and Coach Mora found found himself answering questions about something he didn't say instead of preparing his football team. Nah, this is the one that Falcons fans remember, though. We got another one. With Atlanta still alive in the playoff race, Mora went on a Seattle radio and was asked whether he'd coach his alma minor, University of Washington. You remember this? Instead of brushing it off, he said it was his dream job and that he'd take it immediately, even if the Falcons were in the middle of a playoff run.
SPEAKER_01Why in the wide, wide world of sports would you ever even let that get out of your mouth?
SPEAKER_00Because you're a knucklehead. Goodness gracious. It's crazy, right? Oh do you remember that happening?
SPEAKER_01Oh, I don't. Oh god. But I'm I'm so glad I don't. Because I know I I know it happened, but I I I think maybe there's a block there or something.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you you are fortunate because it still makes me a little bit mad. Well, yeah. Well, he later claimed he was joking, of course, but after listening back to the interview, admitted it certainly didn't sound that way. Owner Arthur Blank was furious and required more to publicly apologize before the Dallas game. For a locker room trying to stay focused on making the postseason, that was about as poorly timed a distraction as you could imagine. Also, after a home loss to the Saints in November, Michael Vick made obscene gestures toward booing Falcons fans. Vic's Vick apologized, but Mora again had to spend valuable time dealing with controversy rather than football. Combine all these things with it with the cell phone incident and the mic toss from the end of the previous year, and you see a pattern of immaturity that I'm sure Coach Mora would admit to by now. The job was too big for him at that point in time, and he acted like a knucklehead. Was more the reason for the Falcon decline, you'd ask, and the answer is probably not entirely. Uh Atlanta suffered some some pretty key injuries that year. Patrick Kearney, John Abraham, Brian Fenneran. Wow. You know, Finn Finn was top receiver, actually, for a while. People don't remember that. They think of him as maybe the third option. No, Finn led the team uh in receptions a couple of years. Uh those losses hurt a team, already lacked offensive consistency. But Mr. Blank eventually concluded the issue went beyond injuries. The repeated second half collapses combined with Moore's self-inflicted distractions, especially in Washington, uh convinced Mr. Blank that the franchise needed new leadership. Moore was subsequently fired after the 06 season. Mr. Blank didn't mess around with that one. When I tell you things get worse, and I mean a whole lot worse, those of you who were around will remember, and the rest of you just tune in next week. Don't believe me. This is curse of the Falcons.
SPEAKER_01What goes around comes around.
SPEAKER_00What goes up must come down.
SPEAKER_01You know, I I do think though that that when we're humbled, that good things can come from it. I'll agree with that if they learn, if we learn. And um uh, you know, for us fans, uh we've we've had our heads down for quite a while, you know. And so when good things happen, it's it just boy, this uh uh this city's thirsty. Are we? You know, that's why I keep thinking, man, this year we're parched. It should be really great. Yes, parched, indeed. Indeed. But uh anyway, uh we have more humbling to come.
SPEAKER_00Yes, we do. So make sure, make sure you come back next week because you're gonna you're gonna know what this curse is all about. Trust me. It's wow, it's ugly.
SPEAKER_01Just amazing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank y'all for listening this week. Yes, very much. Curse of the Falcons is produced by Sonny Lawlessett, recorded by Sonny and me, Dan Cox, and created by Chuck E. and me. Theme song Reverse the Curse, written, produced, and performed by Sonny and the Reverse the Curse Dirty Bird Rock and Roll Band. Would appreciate any positive clicks, such as follows, likes or five-star reviews that can help people find us. You know that'll help us find us, you know the algorithm and all that stuff. If you like what you hear, tell your friends. You can correspond directly with the show by email at cursofthefalcons at yahoo.com. Let's keep building this community so together we can reverse the curse. Far as that team down in Louisiana goes, we're glad we're not you. Curse of the Falcons is produced and recorded at Studio Ala Cut, located in historic Old Country, Sperna, Georgia. This has been a cruise control production.
SPEAKER_01Y'all have a good day.
